Crawl – Necrotic Fear

April 2019 – Anomalous Mind Records

Crawl is a one-man project I stumbled upon in 2018, after the release of their split with Leviathan, opening with the irate At the Forge of Hate, which might have been the heaviest side on any Leviathan split ever. Necrotic Fear continues the tradition of whipping the listener in the face with bass strings, but for pacing's sake the album is broken up by sinister lulls like the alcoves on the cover, providing refuge from the wind tunnel that the other songs seem to imitate. Everything from the art to the drums is distorted, almost feeling like a more noise based project than a metal one, and we're in the territory of the non-riff, where feedback and drone are how hatred are expressed. Let's go with blackened sludge.

The opener and closer are similar in that they both showcase a more subtly menacing approach, akin to dark ambient, but in different ways. Paralyzed, I Awaken... is a melancholic dirge, the soundtrack to a suicide forest with trees bearing rotting human fruit, whereas Summoning Ixtab is a more intense yet more drawn-out view of an open mass grave, its stench coming in waves as the guitar swells in and out of a cranked reverb pedal. A Broken Lich is where I finally recognized the Crawl I knew, with the same livid screams and crushing slow pace they had on their split. Cymbals like a pit of rattlesnakes surround the expanding bass, both fighting for the largest sonic estate in an ominous duel of highs and lows. Descending Further Into Cyclical Hatred follows, building upon the negative disharmony and propelling the record into more energetic territories, with beats you can actually solemnly nod to. An aptly titled track, as the first and only riff appears and an inevitable rictus draws itself onto my lips. I Desperatly Cry is the final song that isn't ambient, and notably uses a vocal synth, as if trying to impose discernable notes on an otherwise harmonically-barren wasteland.

The title track and its follow-up would serve as excellent introductions to a funeral doom record, a keyed instrument slowly working its way through a sombre chord progression while a cold breeze carries whispers to and from your ears, just long enough to ascribe them to a lost soul in the distance. It's difficult to decide whether Crawl excels more at ambient tracks than at blackened sludge, both of which take an effective, relatively minimalist approach to composition. Either way, Necrotic Fear is probably the best album in its genre, whatever it may be, from this year.

Comments

Grime - Live

Grime Live – Oct. 2017 The air is heavy, the lights are dim, and the conversations skittle away, hiding in the corners as Grime takes to the stage. Eyes up and hair down, I knew we were in for something good. Grime, the italian sludge act, released their first album in 2013 on the well-known Mordgrimm records. They might be the best-named band I can think of – the unclean buzz of the strings and damp mix of instruments give off a filthy, pock-marked sound, the kind you'd hear from scraping a sewer floor. I didn't know of them until their 2015 record, Circle of Molesters, but they're the kind of band who can do no wrong. The first note hit, and the bass shook me in unholy ways. After staggering a few steps back, I looked up at the stage and saw some of the best lighting since Messuggah. A white backdrop, searchlight-style movement carving the silhouettes of Grime into my retina. Marco, lead guitar, was spectacular in his theatrics. Doubling over in rage and p...

Five the Hierophant – Over Phlegeton

Five the Hierophant – Over Phlegeton Dark Essence Records – 2017 There's a rare breed of album which instantly becomes a cult classic, and I can confidently say Over Phlegeton is one of them. Experimental, weird, bizarre, none of these words come close to describing just how extraordinary and interesting this record is. If I had to draw parallels with another band, I'd say it's a heavier, more mature version of Mamaleek, with many similar elements such as the ethnic percussions or non-traditional scales, but with a much darker visage and more detailed composition. There have been incredible avant-garde metal albums using unconventional instruments, but none have been so tactfully used as the saxophone is on Over Phlegeton. Played as a full instrument and not a token nod to some jazzy experimentation, Five the Hierophant explore the extremeties of what the sax can do – from screaming leads floating above the guitars to wailing voices in the wind, passing by hear...

Analepsy – Atrocities from Beyond

When I say slam, people usually think of the Russian scene, often citing ultra-heavyweights Abominable Putridity. Well, it turns out Portugal is also amazing at mid-tempo grooving. Their first release, Dehumanization by Supremacy, was an exceptional debut from any point of view. The production was spot-on, the songs had great flow, and the slams were goddamn heavy. The vocals were arguably the least impressive, mainly because there was so little variety – which is something given that we’re talking about brutal death metal here. On Atrocities from Beyond, the man behind the mic is replaced by the lead guitarist, Diogo Santana, and this man’s range is far superior – there are some nice mid-ranged growls mixed and that really give the gutturals punch by contrast. They’ve hired backup on a couple of songs, including the legendary Larry Wang from Coprocephalic, who’s always a welcome addition to any album. It’s great to hear how the songwriting grew between the two records. The first ...

Undergrind Metal

Search This Blog